Almost two-thirds of homes in the Tower, a 50-storey apartment complex in London, are in foreign ownership, with a quarter held through secretive offshore companies based in tax havens, a Guardian investigation has revealed.
The first residents of the landmark development arrived in October 2013, but many of the homes are barely occupied, with some residents saying they only use them for a fraction of the year.
— The Guardian
The kind of wealth that turns a home into a status symbol—and an underused status symbol at that, with occupancy rates of only a few weeks a year—is not easing London's housing crisis. As the city's housing rates push actual citizens to decamp to cheaper suburbs or simply leave the area altogether, London can look forward to being transformed into an empty stage set of a once thriving metropolis.
For a fuller perspective on London's housing problems:
4 Comments
Solution, build more housing. Commodities such as housing are market driven. Instead of government subsidized home ownership loans how about government subsidized construction loans.
Over and OUT
Peter N
Why would someone buy a home in this brutally expensive building if he'll not live there all the time ?
Peter - Build more housing? do you understand how clustered London is? London has a ton of building regulations as well, we don't have enough land. The solution is to drive away the job market away from London by improving the city links and infrastructure to commute towns and cities surrounding London.
Allow incentives for businesses to move outside London to places like Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester but it won't happen unless there is a sure, reliable and faster access to the Capital.
Stewart - It's good investment, my home was 230K 3 years ago now it's worth 440k and this is the outskirts. Inner London where homes were worth 1million are now 2-3Million.
London is West Karachi now. It will have to be reconquered by future generations of Englishmen.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.